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Archiver > ILFRANKL > 2002-01 > 1010198999


From: Robert L Webb <>
Subject: Copyright question
Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2002 20:50:54 -0600


Dear friends,
I have recently been investigating the feasibility of having a small
hymn book printed (which is still rather widely used), which was
originally published in 1887 and then revised in1892 (well before the
1923 date which the Library of Congress, U. S. Copyright office says is
the cutoff date for books in the public domain), since which time it has
been reprinted without any further change (Wow! - right?). The thing
that makes this case unusual, is that the hymn book has been published
all these years, until early in 2001, when it was decided by the
publisher that they would no longer publish it. They are trying to sell
the plates (which are not needed by us). They have no paperwork that I
know of, no copyright forms, no assignments, that would be in force, all
would be expired. My understanding is that when a copyright expires, the
book is in the public domain, and anyone in the world who wants to do so,
can publish it in the form it was copyrighted under which has expired,
regardless of whether or not the original publisher or copyright holder
is still publishing it also. If he decided to publish it again, there is
nothing to stop him, but I am of the opinion that anyone else also has a
right to do so if they wish. I am not aware of any loopholes in the
copyright law, which enable a copyright to remain in force for books
published long before 1923, simply based on the fact that it has been
republished in new printings over and over again all through the years.
If anyone has any experience along this line, I would appreciate any
thoughts you may want to share. I may talk to a copyright attorney
(again) about this before going any further. The first time I talked to
him, we did not have quite all the facts of the history of the book, and
were not sure whether the former publisher had any supporting documents
to show any kind of copyright. The Library of Congress, Copyright office
database, shows no copyright in effect for this book.
Sincerely,
Robert
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